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Abstract:

Fatigue is a symptom of arthritis that
causes difficulty at work. An improved
understanding of this symptom could assist it
s management in the work environment. The
aim of this study was to explore people with
rheumatic diseases’ experiences of fatigue in
work. A qualitative descriptive design was us
ed with semi-structured interviews and a
constant comparative method of data analysis. There were 18 participants, the majority of
them female with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
and working full-time. Three themes were
identified: “Impact of fatigue on work pe
rformance” with cognition, mood and physical
abilities being the main difficulties reported.
In the second theme “Disclosure at Work”
participants discusse
d disclosing their disease to empl
oyers but reported a lack of
understanding of fatigue fr
om colleagues. The final theme “work-based fatigue
management strategies” included cognitive stra
tegies and energy management techniques,
which were mainly self-taught. In this study,
fatigue was reported to impact on many areas
of work performance with limited unde
rstanding from colleagues and employers.
Interventions from health professionals to
assist with development of work-related
self-management skills are required to assist wi
th symptom management in the work place.
Such interventions should include education to
employers and colleagues on the nature of
fatigue in Rheumatic diseases.